Filipinos have What it Takes to Become Good at Beach Volleyball

David McKienzie, one of United States’ premiere spikers in the 2012 London Olympics, said the Filipinos’ physique and ability to adapt to the sands and the wind can be major factors for them to excel at beach volleyball in the international level.

The 6-foot-4 McKienzie is here to conduct a two-day beach volleyball seminar in cooperation with the Philippine Superliga (PSL), the American Volleyball Association, SM Mall of Asia and Accel.

Dubbed as “On Sands with David McKienzie,” the seminar aims to encourage all players, coaches, officials and even fans to know the basic rules, latest trends and techniques in beach volleyball, something that will increase the level of competition in the country.

The clinic serves as a prelude to PSL’s beach volleyball open tournament this June.

McKienzie was aided by noted beach volleyball guru Eric Lecain and former PSL Grand Prix import Lindsay Stalzer, who shared her knowledge to the likes of Gretchen Ho of Ateneo and Jozza Cabalsa of Petron together with a handful players from the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

“In reality, Filipinos have a really good physique for beach volleyball. You have strong legs, you can move through the sand more and other people don’t have that kind of ability,” said McKienzie during the first edition of the seminar late Wednesday at the Sands at SM By the Bay in Pasay City.

“Also, the sand and the wind will level the playing field for you. The Philippines is a tropical country and you get a lot of sand and wind here.”

McKienzie added that beach volleyball is way different than indoor volleyball.

“They’re not the same,” he said. “Beach volleyball is a lot more like tennis than volleyball. There’s a lot more rallies and endurance, a lot of talent and explosiveness are required. Beach volleyball is the more pure sport, and I think Filipinos can excel at it.”

The last time the Philippines competed in a major beach volleyball tournament was in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games where the tandem of Filipino-Americans Heidi Ilustre and Dianne Pascua took home the bronze medal in the women’s division as well as Parley Tupaz and Rhovyl Verayo in the men’s side.

But with the formation of a new federation, the Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas, Inc., and the emergence of PSL, a revival of the beach volleyball program is on the horizon.

“Beach volleyball is one of the many underdeveloped sports here,” KcKienzie said. “Filipinos have a lot of potential. The have the passion and the talent. The future looks bright.”

“I’m quite familiar with her so it really helped,” said Tiu, who also leaned on the steady game of her partner, Aby Nuval, to escape with the win. “We only trained thrice before this tourney and during those trainings, we had tune-up matches with F2 Logistics.”

“Both of them are really good. But we had to target Aby because we know that Danika is more experienced being the former champion. We practiced hard and prepared for them because we know that they are a very good team.”

But the celebration will not last long as Petron XCS will clash with Jovelyn Gonzaga and Nene Bautista of RC Cola-Army A in the semis following a 21-14, 21-12 win over Maica Morada and Frances Molina of Petron Sprint 4T in the other quarterfinal pairing.

“We will work hard to win the title,” said Gonzaga, anticipating an all-out war against Pontillas who used to be her partner in the SEA Games in Palembang, Indonesia.

“We know that we’re in control. We have the experience over them,” said Gonzaga, arguably the country’s best beach volleyball player as she has yet to lose a major beach volleyball tournament since 2009.

“We were never rattled. They were trying to make a rally so we will solve it by ourselves. We didn’t fight, we didn’t argue, we just stayed focus and enjoyed the game.”